My new colour combination - Lemon and Blue

(source: http://design-seeds.com/home/entry/lemony-hues)

After spending a glorious time creating items using a red and grey colour combination, I felt it was time to move to another. Looking through pictures of the items that I have created, I realised that I didn't have a lot of yellow based items, hence I have a bit of a hankering for 'yellow'.I spotted this colour combination - lemon yellow and blue/grey hues... warmth and coolness colliding. 

I must admit, I have already started creating a tiny canvas using these colours...

Now to add my feature motif...
 What do these colours remind you of?
I have started a list of items that I link with particular colours. As my feature colour is yellow (with a cool colour background), my ideas for a motif include:

• a duck (for a child's canvas)
• flower
• beach items
• butterfly
• bird

 Now to make a decision...
 I am also looking forward to creating larger canvases and jewellery items with this colour combination.

~Jen.

Colour Combo - Red and Grey/Silver

I love working in colour combinations...

I seem to work in colour combinations - finding a source of inspiration, and then producing a range of products: cards, canvases, jewellery, decorative items...

I have just finished my last combination consisting of grassy green hues and yellow. So the time has come to look for a new combination.

I love spending time (and often it is quite a lot of time!) looking at different colour combinations to inspire my next set of artwork. My greatest resources for colour combinations are images on the web and my new found source - Pinterest.

This is what I found:

Source: designs-seeds.com

I have a craving to use bright red. I was drawn to the combination of silver/grey and the touch of light brown.

This is the result of a treasure hunt consisting of these colours around the house:

Now to get creating with these colours...

Thanks for viewing!

Wonderful Wednesday - Feels like Autumn

We have had a few cooler and wetter Autumn days of late, which have been a welcome relief to the intense dryness and heat that we have experienced during some days in Summer.

On Easter Monday, Mr T, my bro and myself went for a bike ride. We are enjoying cycling and have planned to enter some rides later on in the year, hence we are slowly building up the distance and the amount of cycling that we are doing. The ride (one way) was 38km. The day was overcast with a touch of drizzle to begin with, however, we enjoyed cycling along and we found it quite pleasant and not too arduous. After having a little lunch, we set off for the 38km journey back to our starting destination. Then it dawned on us...we were enjoying a lovely tail wind on the way there and we were now going to go against the wind. For the first half of our return journey, it was ok, however once we hit the more open spaces, riding through plains with not a lot of trees for windbreaks, the wind was relentless! Our average speed slowed quite considerably and we began to count down the kilometres. Needless to say, we arrived a little later than expected and a little more sore. Oh well...we made it and felt satisfied in completing it, hence my inspiration for the week is...Autumn.

Lion soft toy by 'The Crafty Little Fox'

Check out this Autumn coloured cutie! Handmade toys ooze love, cuddles and cuteness. I love his gorgeous mane and his cartoon like eyes. Not a scary lion at all!

Spiral bracelet by 'A Little Bling'

What a unique piece of jewellery! I love the brown and gold tones and the way that the beads spiral around. Gorgeous!

Hand knitted scarf by 'Sally Anna Boutique'

I adore scarves! Once again, I love how the brown and gold tones work together. I also love the variety of yarn that is used, adding texture. Stylish for everyday or at a football match.

I hope that this provides you with some inspiration!

Wonderful Wednesday - Pastels

It is the season for pastel colours at the moment. Pastel colours are soft and flower-like and are often associated with Easter. Easter has been on my mind lately, not only because it is Lent, but I also found a terrific idea for Easter and I can't wait to craft them up as gifts, hence my inspiration for the week is...pastels!

Felt mobile by 'Milbot & Chooky'

This mobile is adorable. I love the look of these fluffy, rain clouds floating in mid-air and dispensing plump, colourful raindrops. Lovingly hand stitched, this mobile would look beautiful in a nursery.

Polymer clay bead necklace by 'The Bear & the Whale'

This is so simple that it is eye-catching. These five round pastel beads strung on a simple waxed cord. Beautiful!

Crocheted rabbit rattle by 'Rosieok Creations'

What a sweet little bunny! I love his round, pear shaped body with a stripy front. His teeny, tiny ears are gorgeous. The bonus about this little fluffy character is that it is also a rattle...a perfect Easter gift for non-chocolate eating littlies.

I hope that this provides you with some inspiration!

Friday Thoughts - Colour

Every week, I look forward to a particular time at work. It is when we focus on creativity and art skills. As a creative person, I enjoy teaching and fostering art and craft skills in young children.
Over the past few weeks, we have been focusing on the topic of 'Colour'. The children have identified colours and objects that are particular colours. The children have experimented with mixing colours, firstly with paints and then with cellophane. I didn't 'teach' the children that certain colours mixed together make a new colour, rather, I let them find it out for themselves and then got them to share their 'combinations' with others to try. The difference is amazing as children get so excited when they discover colours for themselves. This enthusiasm continues to drive their learning and gives them a sense of self achievement.

After discovering colour combinations with paint, we then transferred our knowledge of colours to cellophane. The beauty of cellophane is that it is transparent. I cut up pieces of red, yellow and blue cellophane. I also gave the students a clear, plastic pocket (pockets that hold paper documents in folders). Students stuck down pieces of cellophane on top of the clear pocket with sticky tape. I encouraged over-lapping of cellophane pieces so that when the finished art piece is stuck to a window, the over-lapping shows new colour combinations. Stick these colourful art pieces to a window to allow the colour combinations to be evident.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday in the making

I can now breathe a sigh of relief...

...over the past few weeks I have been busily making up necklaces, rings and key rings for the 'Bubs2Teens' market which was held on Saturday. There is always a rush in building up stock and admittedly, the market has been my focus rather than re-stocking my store or creating new designs. So now, I can change my focus.

I love creating new colours for my necklace range. A very different colour and texture is 'Sea Sage'...

I made both 'Climbing Rose' necklaces (as above) and 'Little Tee' necklaces out of this colour. It is a blue/green, sea-like colour that has a greyish white pattern added to it. The strands are more ribbon-like in nature compared to other necklaces that I have made and that has been due to the original t-shirt. This 'Sea Sage' necklace is available in my Madeit store.

Other colours that I have created are 'Fairy Floss Pink', 'Lemon Sherbet', 'Cherry Red'... I think it is funny that most of my colours revolve around food!

On the list:

• A new project
• Fabric flower headbands

Thanks for viewing!

Thursday Catch Up - Blue Inspirations

Sorry that I didn't post my 'Wonderful Wednesday' yesterday. I simply ran out of time to blog. However, I am catching up today...

One of my favourite colours is blue. It doesn't matter what shade of blue, I love it. I must say, I do have a special hankering for a royal blue and azure as it reminds me of the sky on a bright, clear, sunny day in Australia. I also love aqua or teal as it reminds me of crystal clear water, like in the pictures of beaches in the tropics. For my wedding, I chose a royal blue for the bridesmaids dresses and teamed it up with a bright yellow and gold for decorations and flowers. Lovely 'blue' memories.

I happily scoured the lovely creations in 'Madeit' and found these inspirational blue creations...

Crochet Bag by 'Lollipops and Love'

Isn't this the sweetest little girl's accessory. I love crocheted and knitted creations! The stitches look so neat and I love the powdery blue colour of the yarn, teamed with the pink and white flower.

Dog Collars by 'The Crafty Possum'

I know that there are other colours here, but there is a blue collar in the picture. I love 'The Crafty Possum's dog collars. I bought one for my little dog. Not only do they look great, but they are well made and very sturdy. I particularly like the clip that makes it easy to take the collar on and off when you want to give pooch a bath. 'The Crafty Possum' makes a range of stylish collars.

Button Brooch by 'Monkey and Bee'

Some fabrics have the most beautiful patterns! I love the aqua blue flowers on this fabric, teamed with green and orange - super contrasting colours. 'Monkey and Bee' have used this fabric to make a button brooch, to wear this gorgeous design all the time.

I hope that these items have also inspired you!

Friday thoughts - Colour - choice, balance and association

When you see a colour, does it remind you of anything in particular? Do you naturally decorate anything for a girl with pink and anything for a boy in blue? It is funny how this association with colour and gender has occurred.

Then there are cool and warm colours. Warm (yellow, orange, red) colours are generally more bold and dazzling, whereas cool colours (blue, green, purple) are more calm and settling. I must say, I do prefer the cooler colours. I seem to choose them over the warmer colours concerning clothes, furnishings and even in craft/fabric patterns. Whereas, there are other people that I know that warmer colours look awesome on.

You could even argue that there is even a pecking order with the brightness of hues. When decorating or making items for children, I tend to use bright and bold colours, rather than pastel colours. To me, bright and bold colours remind me of the energy and bounce that children have. In my latest project, I am using bold and bright colours for the main picture/decoration which is placed upon a pastel blue background. The aim of this item will be a decoration for a girl's (yes...I am using pink) bedroom/nursery.

What colours work well? I often look for great colour combinations in fabric patterns, but only choose three colours! If the fabric that inspires me has a lot of different colours or hues I only pick three, any more and it can look too 'busy'. I often choose one main colour, and the other two colours are used to add some contrast or highlight. This adds more balance.

 An example of this is with 'Rosie'. I chose the flowery patterned fabric. I then used pink from the fabric as the main colour and used purple and green (in the same hues as the fabric) to add some highlights to the ears, face, tummy and paws.This principle can be used in a lot of ways - in making craft items, card making/scrapbooking and even in decorating rooms.

Have a colourful weekend! I hope to finish the 'project' soon to show you all.

Friday thoughts - a source of inspiration

I love visiting our library...

I love borrowing out novels and magazines fortnightly to replenish my reading material. I prefer to read than watch TV, although I am finding it hard to find time to sit down and read a good book.That's where magazines are great. They don't take a lot of time to read from cover to cover.

On my last visit to the library, I borrowed out an edition of 'Australian Better Homes and Gardens'. I am not one for house renovating, however, something lept of the page at me. I was quite taken by this colour combination...

(Source: Australian Better Homes and Gardens magazine, May 2011,Pacific magazines, Australia, p.21)

I love the brightness of the green, reminding me of a fresh, green lime, which is teamed with bright orange - rather a citrus flavoured colour combination! I thought I would store this colour combination away to assist in future product designs.

I know that some crafters have an 'inspiration board' - a place where eye catching and inspiring snippets are pinned so that they can be used to inspire future designs. It maybe worth a try...(at least I would have one item pinned to it!)

What inspires you in your craft?

Wonderful Wednesday - My growing palette of colour

What colour do I choose?

Monday - in the making

Today was hot...

I mean scorching hot, blazing sun, 40 plus degrees centigrade. It is not very often that I experience a scorching, Australian, summer day like this as where I live, we may have the odd one or two 'hot' days, but nothing so searing.

What I do like about these hot, summer days (providing that I am in a cool, air conditioned place) is that you can't do much, particularly outside as it is too hot. This means time spent crafting...which I did. Here is the result...

I love the combination of purple and bright green.

So it ended up being a perfect summer day, although the one thing that may have improved it would be to have the cricket on TV, in the background at the same time. Got to love summer!

Happy crafting and stay cool!

Wonderful Wednesday - A new stash!

Friday thoughts - Feeling Funky

I went out of my comfort zone today... well maybe just a little.

It was 'Funky Friday' at my work place today. The aim was to dig through your wardrobe, pull out something a bit more 'out there' than the usual work garb and wear it in public.

I am here to say that dress ups are not my most favourite thing. I opted for a flowing aqua, brown and cream patterned top with a tie around the midriff, with three quarter length demin pants. My hair was styled in two, low pony tails...aiming for a more 'hippy' look. It was a bit more 'out there' (well...at least for me), but I still felt reasonably comfortable.

It is safe to say that the colour schemes and styles of clothing that people wore to work today were a little more bright and more eyecatching. Which promotes the thought...colour combinations...which ones work well?

At the moment I am loving what I term 'Watermelon colours' - pink and green. I haven't long completed a pair of 'Cutie bug hair clips' using that colour scheme. The classic pink and purple also work well together. A colour combination that I hadn't previously thought of until I saw it combined on a fabric design is chocolate brown, beige and teal. I have also made a pair of 'Cutie bug hair clips' using that colour combination.

I love pairing colours with each other and the combinations are almost endless. What are your favourite colour combinations? I would love to know.

Happy crafting with those colours!

Weekend Wonders - I love colour

Earlier this month I mentioned that I picked up my latest 'stash' - my latest 'block' of colour to work with. I enjoy going to a craft store, finding a beautiful fabric and then spend time matching felt, threads and yarn to the fabric. This 'stash' is quite bright with candy pink, lime green and a lilac colour. Over the weekend I had the chance to visit my local craft shop (yet again) and purchased some plain fabric to match the pink, green and purple so that I can soon begin some headbands.

I also spent time over the weekend keeping my fingers busy with a range of projects and managed to finish a card set using an aqua blue and white patterned paper.

I not only love the colour of the blue, but I also like the simplicity of the pattern. To create the card design I simply cut a rectangle of the patterned paper and mounted it on two rectangles of different shades of aqua. I was going to place a silver sticker outline around the block, but it looked elegant without it. Instead I added a silver 'Happy Birthday' sticker. This set will be added to my MadeIt shop over the weekend.

Whatever your project was over the weekend, I hope you enjoyed that creative time!